No. VIII.
Illustration to “Dreamland in History,” by Dr. Gloucester. (London: Isbister & Co.) Drawn by Herbert Railton.
Example of brilliancy and simplicity of treatment in line drawing for process. There is no illustration in this book which shows better the scope and variety of common process work. Mr. Railton has studied his process, and brought to it a knowledge of architecture and sense of the picturesque. This illustration is reduced considerably from the original drawing.
The artist who draws for reproduction by chemical and mechanical means is thrown upon his own resources. He cannot say to the acid, “Make these lines a little sharper,” or to the sun’s rays, “Give a little more light”; and so—as we cannot often have good wood engraving, as it is not always cheap enough or rapid enough for our needs—we draw on paper what we want reproduced, and resort to one of the photographic processes described in this book.
“BY UNFREQUENTED WAYS.” (W. H. GORE.)
I do not think the modern illustrator realises how much depends upon him in taking the place, so to speak, of the wood engraver. The interpretation of tone into line fitted for the type press, to which the wood engraver gave a lifetime, will devolve more and more upon him. We cannot keep this too continually in mind, for in spite of the limitations in mechanically-produced blocks (as compared with wood engraving) in obtaining delicate effects of tone in line, much can be done in which the engraver has no part.
